Innovative Lead Generation Strategies for Procurement Services
Changes in the digital landscape have directly affected how businesses manage their procurement services. These days, procurement often involves cloud-based solutions, e-procurement systems, and digital platforms to perform procurement tasks. Corporations must embrace new technology-driven strategies to meet company goals and consumer needs. It all starts with developing effective and innovative lead generation techniques that take full advantage of digital technologies to help maintain a competitive edge. Ideally, they will align with the ongoing changes in digital transformation in the industry.
What is Procurement Services?
Any activity that involves obtaining goods or services that a company needs to operate effectively falls under procurement services. This might include supply management, contract management, and marketing services. People-based services are also considered part of procurement, like on-site security services and contractors.
The current wave of digital transformation brings with it much more access to information and data that can be leveraged for procurement services. Crowdsourcing and networking to find suppliers is much easier, plus real-time tracking of online or physical activity is achieved through the cloud and artificial intelligence tools.
Speaking of AI, AI tools provide advanced analytics that can help predict cost fluctuations, supplier demand and risks, and even assist with decision-making.
Who is Responsible for Procurement Services?
Several factors influence how a company decides to approach procurement services. For instance, the business size, specific industry, and targeted goals will impact which methodology best suits that company’s needs.
Depending on your business, different methods for procurement services may be more beneficial than others.
- In-house procurement services department: Many large and medium-sized corporations create dedicated procurement departments that manage activities and tasks throughout the entire process. In-house procurement teams provide businesses with more control over the procurement process and the ability to customise and tailor strategies to fit their goals.
- Outsource procurement services: Third-party procurement services are available to handle a variety of tasks throughout the lifecycle of the procurement process. Outsourcing services allow smaller businesses to leverage industry expertise, which in turn frees up time for them to focus on other areas of the business.
- Adopt a hybrid approach: Combining the use of in-house teams and outsourcing services gives businesses the most flexibility. Companies can maintain control and oversight of the most important tasks while working with third-party services on other operational tasks and projects.
Prioritise Prospects with Lead Scoring
Oftentimes marketing and sales teams work in tandem to develop lead generation strategies. In fact, without a collaborative effort between these two departments, it’s much harder to develop successful campaigns. If these teams are not aligned with a clear idea of what makes a good lead, lead scoring can help.
Think of lead scoring as a checklist of criteria, where each criterion is assigned a value, usually X amount of points. When used for procurement services, the more points that a prospective partner has, the more likely that the lead would be a good match.
It’s important that the marketing teams and sales teams agree on what makes a qualified lead before starting the scoring process. Teams will need to gather information about each lead that might include:
- Demographics: Where is the organisation located? Depending on the type of lead you’re looking for (on-site versus remote) a lead’s location will influence if they’re a good fit or not.
- Organisation size: Do you prefer working with a large enterprise that offers ample support, or will an independent organisation with a smaller team be sufficient for your needs?
- Budget: Understand your budget before searching for leads. This will help minimise accidentally qualifying leads that are outside the scope of your budget.
- Engagement: Businesses can gauge a lead’s interest in a partnership by noting their level of engagement. If they visit your website often, sign up for email communications, or reply to your messages promptly, that’s a good indication that they’re interested in working with you.
Lead Generation Tools for Outreach Efforts
Now that you’ve determined the criteria that make a good lead for procurement services, it’s time to connect with those organisations. Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as looking up a name and number in the phone book as it was before. Most companies keep their contact information online, but due to privacy and security concerns, it’s tricky to find the right information you need.
Although digital data is sometimes hard to locate, the key is leveraging digital tools to find the contact information you’re looking for. Several mobile apps, search engines, and social media platforms are great sources of information—you just have to be willing to do the work.
If you need to find the name and phone number of key decision-makers, consider using a variety of methods and tools to locate the contact information you need:
- Visit the company website. Some businesses share key members of the organization and their department phone numbers online. Even if the only number listed is a general company number, calling might lead to a company directory to get you in touch with the right person.
- Check digital white pages. Much like physical phone books, digital white pages provide a large database of names, phone numbers, and addresses.
- Use search engines. Sometimes simply entering a name and company into Google can pull up directories with contact information. If the results are too broad, include specifics like a city or job title for a more tailored search.
- Access review sites. Many review websites include contact information for companies and key personnel.
- Download Google Chrome extensions. The good thing about browser extensions is that they’re usually free to use and pull contact information quickly off of websites and social media.
This may seem like a lot of work to find a phone number, especially when Zoom meetings are standard practice. But sometimes reaching out with a phone call is that personal touch that’s missing when building relationships in business. A little creativity can go a long way.
More Lead Generation Strategies for Procurement Services
Typically the goal of lead generation in marketing and sales is to convert a lead into a sale. In the case of procurement services, the goal is to convert a lead into a partner. Aside from cold outreach, let’s take a look at some lead generation strategies you can implement to secure procurement services.
Webinars and Workshops
Hosting webinars and workshops with industry experts and professionals is a good way to connect with procurement organisations. It’s usually cost-effective and simple to organise with the benefit of gathering multiple experts together at once. This is a good time for organisations to share their expertise and strategies.
Industry Events and Networking
Attend industry events, conferences, and trade shows that focus on the area of procurement you’re interested in, such as supply chain management or equipment maintenance. Meeting representatives in person can help build organic relationships and an understanding of each other’s needs.
Engage in Online Forums
Find online communities where procurement professionals share their insight and expertise. This is a great avenue to explore that allows businesses to engage in conversations, ask questions, and gauge the responses of potential procurement organisations. Once you’ve made connections with potential companies, it’s that much easier to reach out and inquire about partnering in the future.
The Future of Procurement Services
Integrating digital technologies and tools into lead-generation strategies ensures companies remain competitive in the marketplace. Lead scoring, in particular, outlines a clear vision of ideal leads that supports the marketing and sales team throughout the lead generation process. Effectively using contact information tools and innovative strategies can also help streamline outreach efforts and maximise results.
Procurement Services will continue to be an integral part of modern supply chains. Stay up to date with the latest processes, methodology and know-how with IoSCM. Call 0800 1422 522 today to find out more.